Westpac CEO Catherine McGrath on having her salary published – Money Talks

This was one of the NZ Herald’s top stories of 2025.

Westpac chief executive Catherine McGrath grew up in Bay of Plenty in the 1980s.

While she wasn’t poor, there wasn’t a lot of spare money.

“I don’t remember money being discussed a lot, but I also don’t remember that there was much to spare,” she says.

“My parents never left New Zealand until they were in their forties, and so they prioritised us having a nice home. And there wasn’t spare, but we didn’t need anything either.”

“I had one good dress, and I didn’t have any good shoes. So you wore your school shoes with your good dress.

“I think we were typical of many families at the time because interest rates, at the time, were really high, and so a large amount of money went to debt repayment. I think it was pretty tight.”

These days, it is a bit different. As a bank chief executive, McGrath is one of the most well-paid people in New Zealand.

That’s no secret because her salary is published in Westpac’s annual report as a statutory requirement.

For the record, the latest NZ Herald CEO pay report has McGrath’s salary at about $2.4 million – in the middle of the pack for leading, large Kiwi companies.

New Zealand’s highest-paid CEO (John Cullity at Ebos) earned $7.2m.

“I recognise that I get paid a lot of money,” McGrath says. “I’m very lucky and have worked hard.”

“It is deeply uncomfortable when what you earn is published,” she says. “It’s not just your immediate family, it’s everybody who will have a view and an opinion.”

But McGrath also accepts it is part of the job for big company bosses.

“It’s fair enough as well. It’s right that it’s transparent. So from my view, whilst I don’t like it, it comes ... with the territory.”

Banking is an industry that pays well, she says.

But other industries pay well too.

McGrath also came back to New Zealand from a senior executive position at Barclays Bank in the UK.

She puts it diplomatically. But she would be earning more if she’d stayed in the UK.

“Whilst we look at it from a New Zealand perspective and say it’s a lot of money, most CEOs who come from outside New Zealand to return home to bring their skills to New Zealand aren’t doing it for the money,” she says.

“They’re doing it for other reasons.”

On the Money Talks podcast, McGrath chats with Liam Dann about her upbringing and the career choices that took her to the top in banking.

She also addresses the scale of bank profits.

Listen to the full episode to hear more. Money Talks is a podcast run by the NZ Herald. It isn’t about personal finance and isn’t about economics – it’s just well-known New Zealanders talking about money and sharing some stories about the impact it’s had on their lives and how it has shaped them.

The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large for the Herald. He is a senior writer and columnist and also presents and produces videos and podcasts. He joined the Herald in 2003.

Money Talks is available on iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.